The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) has fixed a target of producing 6.33 lakh tonnes mustard from 5.50 lakh hectares of land during the current Rabi season in the country, official sources said.
The fixed mustard production target is higher by 13,000 tonnes than the last year’s target of producing 6.24 lakh tonnes from 5.20 lakh hectares of land in the country. The DAE and other concerned agriculture related departments and non-government organisations have been extending necessary assistance to the framers to make the fixed mustard cultivation programme successful this season. The farmers started sowing mustard seeds after harvesting short duration variety Aman rice two to three weeks back as the process has now got full momentum with progress of Aman rice harvest everywhere. Under the programme, the DAE has set a target of producing over 2.96 lakh tonnes of the oil seeds in the northern region from 2.57 lakh hectares of land, 46.81 percent of the fixed national target of mustard production this season. Horticulture Specialist of the DAE Khondker Md. Mesbahul Islam said the
farmers have been showing keen interests in farming the cash crop this season after getting repeated bumper productions with excellent price of the oil seeds in recent years. “Sowing of mustard seeds in the huge char areas on the Dharla, Teesta, Brahmaputra, Kartoa and Jamuna and other riverine tracts has been completed and the yield rate has been fixed at 1.15 tonnes mustard seeds per hectare this year,” he said. The DAE, Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI), Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank, NGOs and many other non-government organisations have taken steps to make the programme successful. He said that the farmers are expected to complete sowing mustard seeds by this month end and they are mostly sowing the popular high yielding variety mustard seeds evolved by BARI. Agriculture and Environment Coordinator of RDRS Bangladesh Mamunur Rashid said the farmers are expected to bring more land under mustard cultivation this year as they earned more profits after getting bumper yield with excellent price in recent years. Deputy Director of the DAE Zulfiquer Haider said necessary training, inputs, quality seeds, latest agriculture technologies and agri-loans are being provided to the farmers to make the mustard farming programme successful. -BSS, Rajshahi
